Elina Svitolina advocates for Ukraine on spectacular return

Sixteen months since Elina Svitolina last competed in a grand slam tournament, the Australian Open, life has changed significantly. She is now a mother, having taken maternity leave from the tour before giving birth to her first child, Skaï, with her husband, Gaël Monfils. Her country, Ukraine, has been invaded by Russia. She spent much of her time away from the sport, including during her pregnancy, advocating for her country’s cause.

On the court, however, not too much has changed. Svitolina returned to the French Open with a spectacular performance, dismantling the 26th seed, Martina Trevisan, a semi-finalist last year, 6-2, 6-2 to reach the second round. Trevisan is Svitolina’s first top‑30 win of her comeback.

“Everything is pretty different,” she said. “First, I have a different team right now. I’m a mom right now. So there’s a few things different, and it feels different as well. I’m not a top-10 or top-20 player now. I’m outside of 100, so I’m like top 200 I think after Strasbourg. Also less pressure, I would say, because I’m just gaining, gaining points, and coming back to the level, coming back to the tour. Everything is kind of old and new for me.”

After giving birth to her daughter in October, the 28-year-old returned to the tour at the beginning of the clay season last month. Svitolina looked to find her form by playing a variety of levels, including dropping down to compete in low-level ITF tournaments. Last week, she finally found her way; in her seventh tournament back she won her 17th career WTA title in Strasbourg, defeating the Russian Anna Blinkova in the final. After the win on Saturday, she announced she would donate her winnings to causes in Ukraine.

“I already knew when I was pregnant that I would